Quality control system, method, and program

ABSTRACT

Inspection items of inspection steps performed in processes  40  to  70 , namely, in the processes of parts incoming, production, outgoing and market, and quality defect information items generated in connection with these inspections, are registered in advance in a code master database  17  as systematized codes. A part ID unique to a given part and a product ID unique to a given product are correlatively recorded in a part bar code label  81  and in a product bar code label  82  respectively. These bar code labels  81  and  82  are affixed to each part and product. In each of the processes  40  to  70 , the part IDs or the product IDs are read, inspection results and quality defect information are input, and information is stored in databases  7, 9, 12, 14  and  16 , whereby the quality history of each product is managed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to quality control systems, qualitycontrol methods, quality control programs and recording media on whichthe quality control program is recorded, which enable product qualityinformation to be tracked throughout the life cycle of a product as itpasses through the processes of parts incoming, production, outgoinginspection and market.

2. Background Art

A system for performing product quality control has previously beendisclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-091236.

This conventional quality control system obtains improved quality bystoring set history information and, when a defect is discovered, bypreventing outgoing of products having identical set histories andtaking steps to avoid the reoccurrence of the same defect. The system isadapted to collect, for each product, essential process qualityinformation from production facilities, and to halt outgoing when aproblem occurs in a manufacturing step.

However, a shortcoming encountered with the aforementioned conventionalquality control system is that when a quality-related problem hasoccurred on the market, it is not possible to trace backwards andascertain for example whether the quality problem in that product aroseat the production process, or whether it was a quality problem in a partconstituting that product. That is to say, the shortcoming encounteredis that it does not provide a quality history for each product or modelthroughout parts incoming, production, outgoing and market.

A further shortcoming is that even if the quality histories of eachproduct or model were to be tabulated, because the representation ofquality defect information items generated during the life cycle of aproduct is not systematized, it would be impossible to tabulate at thesame level, and excessive time would be required for the tabulation andfor subsequent analysis.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been devised to eradicate such shortcomings.It is an object of this invention to provide a quality control system, aquality control method, a quality control program and a recording mediumon which a quality control program is recorded, whereby, by tracking thequality history of each product or model and performing integratedmanagement of quality data, the tabulation and analysis of informationrelating to when and what sort of inspections were carried out on eachproduct, and, in the event of a defect having occurred, what sort ofanalysis and countermeasures were carried out, are easily accomplished.

A quality control system of the present invention is a quality controlsystem which, throughout a life cycle of a product as it passes throughprocesses of parts incoming, production, outgoing and market, carriesout an inspection at each process, and collects and manages qualityinformation, using an information recording medium, and comprises afirst storage means for correlatively storing a product ID unique to agiven product, this product ID being recorded in an informationrecording medium affixed to each product, and a part ID unique to agiven part, this part ID being recorded in an information recordingmedium affixed to each part composing the aforesaid product; a mastercode registering means in which are registered in advance, assystematized master codes, inspection items of inspection stepsperformed in the aforementioned processes, and quality defectinformation items generated in connection with at least theseinspections; a reading means for reading, during an inspection step inan aforementioned process, the product ID from the information recordingmedium affixed to a product being inspected; an input means forinputting quality information including inspection results and qualitydefect information, this quality information being input correlativelywith the product ID that has been read by the aforementioned readingmeans; and a second storage means for storing the product ID and thequality information input from this input means; wherein a qualityhistory is managed for each product on the basis of the qualityinformation stored in this second storage means. The quality controlsystem of the present invention may further comprise a first recordingmeans for recording the product ID unique to a given product in aninformation recording medium; and a first affixing means for affixing tothe product, in an initial step of production, the abovementionedinformation recording medium in which the product ID has been recorded.The quality control system of the present invention may still furthercomprise a second recording means for recording the part ID unique to agiven part in an information recording medium; and a second affixingmeans for affixing to the part, when shipping the part, theabovementioned information recording medium in which the part ID hasbeen recorded.

By using systematized master codes for inspection items of inspectionsteps performed in the various processes and for quality defectinformation items generated in connection with these inspections, and byinputting the inspection results and the quality defect information, thepresent invention, having features of the sort described above, achievesterminology standardization and systematization, and is thereby capableof integrated management and multidimensional analysis of quality data.

In the present invention, the aforementioned product ID may include atleast a model name, a date of entry to production, and a serial numberfor each individual product. Further, the aforementioned quality defectinformation may include, classified by process and product, at least theproduct ID, a cause, a responsible factor, a responsible step, a partinformation and a countermeasure. Furthermore, the part ID includes atleast a part code, a part puroduction date, and a serial number of theindividual product for which the part in question is used.

This enables quality information to be tabulated and analyzed for eachproduct and model, and also enables quality history to be trackedthrough the processes of parts incoming, production, outgoing andmarket. The true cause of a defect can therefore be ascertained and acountermeasure rapidly introduced. Moreover, when a quality problem hasoccurred at the market process, it is possible to trace back to theproduction steps or to the parts, and to identify the origin of theproblem.

The quality control system of the present invention can also be providedas a quality control method implemented by this system. That is to say,a quality control method of the present invention is a quality controlmethod which, throughout a life cycle of a product as it passes throughprocesses of parts incoming, production, outgoing and market, carriesout an inspection at each process, and collects and manages qualityinformation, using an information recording medium, and comprises a stepof correlatively recording, in the information recording medium, aproduct ID unique to a given product and a part ID unique to each partcomposing that product; a step of affixing this information recordingmedium to each part or each product; a step of correlatively storing theproduct ID recorded in the information recording medium affixed to eachproduct, and the part ID recorded in the information recording mediumaffixed to each part composing this product; a step of registering inadvance, as systematized master codes, inspection items of inspectionsteps performed in the aforementioned processes, and quality defectinformation items generated in connection with at least theseinspections; a step of reading, during an inspection step in eachprocess, the product ID from the information recording medium affixed toa product being inspected; a step of inputting quality informationincluding inspection results and quality defect information, thisquality information being input correlatively with the product ID thathas been read; and a step of storing the input product ID and qualityinformation.

The quality control method of the present invention can also be providedas a quality control program for implementing this method. That is tosay, a computer-readable quality control program of the presentinvention is a computer-readable quality control program for executing,throughout a life cycle of a product as it passes through processes ofparts incoming, production, outgoing and market, processing for carryingout an inspection at each process, and collecting and managing qualityinformation, using an information recording medium, the quality controlprogram comprising a step of respectively recording, in the informationrecording medium, a product ID unique to a given product and a part IDunique to each part composing that product, by correlatively inputtingthat product ID and part ID; a step of correlatively storing, in a firststorage means, the product ID recorded in the aforementioned informationrecording medium affixed to each product and the part ID recorded in theaforementioned information recording medium affixed to each partcomposing that product; a step of reading, during an inspection step ineach process, the product ID from the information recording mediumaffixed to the product being inspected, this product ID being read by areading means; and a step of using systematized master codes forinspection items of inspection steps performed in the various processesand for quality defect information items generated in connection withthese inspections, to input the inspection results and quality defectinformation from an input means, thereby storing in a second storagemeans, correlatively with the aforementioned read product ID, qualityinformation including the input inspection results and quality defectinformation. This quality control program can also be provided as arecording medium in which it has been recorded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing schematically the processes ofparts incoming, production, outgoing inspection and market, and theconfiguration of the quality control system of the present inventionarranged in correspondence with these processes;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a part ID;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen forinput of parts incoming inspection information;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the inspectioncode masters.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the defectivecode masters.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the parts incoming data.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the product ID.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the productionplanning DB.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the product IDDB.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the inspectionDB.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen forinput of repair data.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the causemasters.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of theresponsible factor masters.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of theresponsible step masters.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the partsmasters.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of thecountermeasure masters.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the repairdatabase.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen forinput of outgoing inspection information.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the outgoinginspection database.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen forinput of market information.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the marketinformation DB.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the procedure for processing the qualityhistory of products.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing the quality history of aproduct.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the procedure for processing the qualityhistory of models.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the quality history of amodel.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing schematically the processes ofparts incoming, production, outgoing inspection and market, and theconfiguration of the quality control system of the present inventionarranged in correspondence with these processes.

The quality control system of the present invention is a system whichuses a bar code label 81 and a bar code label 82, each of these being aninformation recording medium, to collect and manage quality informationobtained by carrying out inspections throughout the life cycle of aproduct as it passes through the processes of parts manufacture andoutgoing 30 by the parts vendor, parts incoming 40 by the productmanufacturer, production 50, outgoing inspection 60 and market 70.

The parts manufacture and outgoing process 30 is therefore provided witha part ID issuing and affixing unit 1 for issuing the part bar codelabel 81, which serves as a part ID, and for affixing this to the part.

The parts incoming process 40 is provided with a reading and input unit2 for reading the part ID from the part bar code label 81 affixed to thepart and for inputting various items, a parts incoming database (DB) 3,and a master code database (DB) 17 in which a variety of master codeshave been stored. It should be noted that use of the master codedatabase 17 is shared with the subsequent processes 50 to 70.

The production process 50 includes the following steps: a productionline input step 51, various inspection steps (two inspections in thisembodiment: namely, a first inspection step 52 and a second inspectionstep 53), and a repair step 54.

The input step 51 is provided with a bar code issuing unit 4, anaffixing unit 5 for the product bar code label 82, a production planningdatabase (DB) 6 and a product ID database (DB) 7. The first inspectionstep 52 is provided with an inspection result output unit 8 for readingthe product ID from the product bar code label 82 and for outputtingvarious inspection results, and with an inspection database (DB) 9. Thesecond inspection step 53 is similarly provided with an inspectionresult output unit 10 for reading the product ID from the product barcode label 82 and for outputting various inspection results, and withthe inspection database (DB) 9. The repair step 54 is provided with areading and input unit 11 for reading the product ID from the productbar code label 82 and for inputting various items, and with a repairdatabase (DB) 12.

The outgoing inspection process 60 is provided with a reading and inputunit 13 for reading the product ID from the product bar code label 82and for inputting various items, and with an outgoing inspectiondatabase (DB) 14.

The market process 70 is provided with a reading and input unit 15 forreading the product ID from the bar code label 82 of a product which isbeing marketed and for inputting various items, and with a marketinformation database (DB) 16.

These reading and input units 2, 11, 13 and 15, together with the partsincoming DB 3, the product ID DB 7, the inspection DB 9, the repair DB12, the outgoing inspection DB 14, the market information DB 16 and themaster code DB 17, are connected by for example a LAN to form a network.This enables quality information to be collected in real time in theprocesses 40 to 70 by accessing any of the DBs 3, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16 and17 as required.

It should be noted that the reading and input units 2, 11, 13 and 15comprise a bar code reader (BCR) or a handy terminal (HT), and apersonal computer (PC), and that the inspection result output units 8and 10 comprise a bar code reader (BCR) or a handy terminal (HT), and anautomatic inspection device.

Next, the method employed, in the quality control system with theabove-described configuration, to collect quality information in theprocesses from parts manufacture and outgoing to market will bedescribed in order.

Parts Manufacture and Outgoing Process 30

In the case of a principal part of a product, the part ID issuing andaffixing unit 1 prints the bar code and affixes the part bar code label81 on each part at the stage when the part manufacturer ships theseparts.

FIG. 2 shows the content of this part bar code label 81. The printed barcode represents the part ID. That is to say, a part code, a partpuroduction date, and a (consecutive) serial number which increments foreach successive part with a given part code and a given puroductiondate, are printed as the bar code. Each part has a unique part ID andactual parts can be identified on the basis of the part ID.

Part Reception Process 40

In the part reception process 40, the part bar code label 81 affixed toa principal part is read by the bar code reader (hereinafter,abbreviated as “BCR”) or the handy terminal (hereinafter, abbreviated as“HT”) of the reading and input unit 2. The BCR or the HT is connected tothe personal computer (hereinafter, abbreviated as “PC”) of the readingand input unit 2, and when an inspector reads the bar code of the partbar code label 81, the result is displayed on a PC screen 110 as shownin FIG. 3.

The part ID, the part code, the puroduction date, the serial number andthe inspection date and time (i.e., the current time) are displayed onthis PC screen 110. The inspector enters an inspection item in aninspection code field 110 a of this PC screen 110, and enters the resultof the inspection (i.e., whether the part has passed or failed) in apass/fail field 110 b.

Because the inspection items are encoded in advance in a form of thesort shown in FIG. 4 and stored in the master code DB 17, the inspectorenters an applicable inspection code in the inspection code field 110 a.In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, “101” has been input in theinspection code field 110 a and the fact that the inspection item is“compressor startup” is indicated beside this. If the inspection resultis that the part has passed, the inspector enters a check mark in the“OK” portion of the pass/fail field 110 b, whereas if the inspectionresult is that the part has failed, the inspector enters a check mark inthe “NG” portion of the pass/fail field 110 b. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 3, a check mark has been entered in the “OK”portion.

If the part fails the inspection (i.e., a check mark has been entered inthe “NG” portion) the inspector enters an applicable defective code in adefective code field 110 c. Because the defective codes are encoded inadvance in a form of the sort shown in FIG. 5 and stored in the mastercode DB 17, this defective code can be used as a key to refer thedefective item for display on the screen. The inspector enters anapplicable defective code (in the present embodiment, 201) in thedefective code field 110 c.

Thereafter, as a result of the inspector pressing an “OK” button at thebottom of the PC screen 110, these items of information displayed on thePC screen 110 are stored in the parts incoming DB 3 in a form of thesort shown in FIG. 6.

Input Step 51 of Production Process 50

In the input step 51, which is the first step of the production, a barcode of the sort shown in FIG. 7 is printed on a label by the bar codeissuing unit 4, and this product bar code label 82 is affixed to theproduct by the product ID affixing unit 5.

That is to say, the product ID data shown in FIG. 9 is prepared from theproduction planning DB 6, in which production planning data has beenstored in a form of the sort shown in FIG. 8. Subsequently, the productID is printed by the bar code issuing unit 4 and affixed to the product.The product ID includes the model name, the date of input of that model(i.e., the date on which the bar code was issued in the first step ofthe manufacturing process) and a (consecutive) serial number whichincrements for each successive product of a given model and with a giveninput date.

In the present embodiment, the input date (when the actual input datediffers from the planned production date, the actual input date is used)and the model name shown in FIG. 9 are obtained on the basis of the partID, which was read by the reading and input unit 2 in the part receptionprocess 40, and on the basis of the planned production date, the inputorder and the model name in the production planning DB 6 shown in FIG.8. Moreover, in order to establish a correlation between the part ID andthe product ID, the input order (a control number) is incremented at thesame time as the part ID is read. If the model name, the input date andthe input order (i.e., the control number) obtained in this manner arejoined together as a string of characters, the product ID shown in FIG.9 is obtained, and it is this product ID that is stored in the productID database 7.

Inspection Step 52

In the inspection step 52, the bar code of the product bar code label 82that has been affixed to the product in the input step 51 is read by theBCR or the HT of the inspection result output unit 8, and stored in theinspection DB 9 in conjunction with the inspection result output fromthe automatic inspection device.

For example, a fixed BCR is installed in the inspection step 52 and thebar code of the product bar code label 82 that has been affixed to theproduct is read by this BCR. An inspection result including the productID, the inspection date and time, the inspection code, whether theproduct has passed or failed the inspection, and the defective code, isgenerated in a form of the sort shown in FIG. 10 on the basis of theinspection result obtained by the automatic inspection device. Thisinspection result is stored in the inspection DB 9. The defective codeis selected from the defective codes, shown in FIG. 5, which are storedin the master code DB 17.

If the inspection result is a pass, the product is sent to the nextinspection step 53 and the next inspection is performed. In theinspection step 53, in similar manner to the inspection step 52, the barcode of the product bar code label 82 that has been affixed to theproduct is read by the BCR or the HT of the inspection result outputunit 10, and stored in the inspection database 9 in conjunction with theinspection result output from the automatic inspection device.

When all the inspections in the production process 50 have beencompleted in this manner, processing shifts to the following process,namely, to the outgoing inspection process 60. The outgoing inspectionprocess 60 is the final in-factory inspection and is usually a samplinginspection.

A product that has failed an inspection is sent to the repair step 54.

Repair Step 54

In the repair step 54, the defect is analyzed and the product isrepaired. When the repair is finished, the bar code of the product barcode label 82 that has been affixed to the product is read by the BCR orthe HT of the reading and input unit 11. When the bar code is read, theproduct ID is used as a key to refer the line out production date andtime and the defective code from the inspection DB 9, and a repair datainput screen 120 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed.

A person making the repair looks at the repair data input screen 120 anduses codes to enter a cause, a responsible factor, a responsible step,part information and a countermeasure from the PC of the reading andinput unit 11.

In this embodiment of the invention, causes, responsible factors,responsible steps, part information and countermeasures are stored inadvance in the master code DB 17 as master data in a form of the sortshown in FIGS. 12 to 16. An applicable item of the master data shown inFIGS. 12 to 16 can be refered from the master code DB 17 using a code asa key. As a result, data input can be speeded up, since it is based onthe input of codes. In addition, the number of mistakes made in enteringrepair data can be reduced, since an applicable item is refered onto thescreen, thereby providing visual confirmation. The repair informationdisplayed on the repair data input screen 120 shown in FIG. 11 is storedin the repair DB 12 in a form of the sort shown in FIG. 17.

Outgoing Inspection Process 60

In the outgoing inspection, the bar code of the product bar code label82 affixed to the product is read by the BCR or the HT of the readingand input unit 13, and the result of the outgoing inspection (i.e., theinspection date and time, the inspection code, the pass/fail result andthe defective code) is input from an inspection result input screen 130of the PC, as shown in FIG. 18. The information comprising theinspection date and time, the inspection code, the pass/fail result andthe defective code, and including the product ID, which is displayed onthe inspection result input screen 130, is then stored in the outgoinginspection DB 14 in a form of the sort shown in FIG. 19, by pressing the“OK” button at the bottom of the inspection result input screen 130.

Market Process 70

If a product develops a fault on the market, or if there is a complaint,a repair is carried out by the service division and the repaired productis sent back to the user. Before sending the product back to the user,the service division inputs the repair result.

That is to say, the bar code of the product bar code label 82 affixed tothe product is read by the BCR or the HT of the reading and input unit15, and the date on which the defect occurred, the repair date and time,the defective code, the cause code, the responsible factor code, theresponsible step code, the part code and the countermeasure code areentered from a repair result input screen 140 of the PC, as shown inFIG. 20. When this is done, the entered codes are used as keys to referapplicable items from the master codes stored in the master codedatabase 17 and shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 12, FIG. 13, FIG. 14 and FIG. 16,whereupon these items can be displayed on the screen. These items ofrepair information for the market phase are stored in the marketinformation DB 16 in a form of the sort shown in FIG. 21.

Quality information is collected in this manner for each product and ineach process 30 to 70, namely in the processes of parts incoming,production, repair, outgoing inspection and market. The qualityinformation for each process is stored in the parts incoming DB 3, theinspection DB 9, the repair DB 12, the outgoing inspection DB 14 and themarket information DB 16.

It should be noted that although in the foregoing description of eachprocess, a one-dimensional bar code was employed as the informationrecording medium for performing individual management of parts andproducts, it is also possible to employ a two-dimensional bar code, anIC card or RFID, etc.

Next, a method of processing the quality history of each product on thebasis of the above-described quality information collected in processes30 to 70 will be described with reference to the flowchart given in FIG.22.

In step S1, a product ID is input from a PC. Alternatively, a product IDmay be obtained by using a BCR or an HT to read the bar code of theproduct bar code label 82 affixed to the product in question.

In step S2, quality information is refered from the inspection DB 9, therepair DB 12, the outgoing inspection DB 14 and the market informationDB 16, using the product ID that has been input in step S1 as a key.

In step S3, a part ID is refered from the product ID DB 7, using theproduct ID that was input in step S1 as a key.

In step S4, quality information pertaining to the part reception isrefered from the part reception DB 3 using the part ID refered in stepS3 as a key.

When the reference results obtained in steps S3 and S4 are displayed inprocess order, results of the sort shown in FIG. 23 are obtained. Theseresults shown in FIG. 23 indicate immediately when and what sort ofinspection was performed on each product (i.e., for each product ID),and, if a defect has occurred, what sort of analysis and countermeasurewere carried out.

Each item of data in the product ID DB 7, the inspection DB 9, therepair DB 12, the outgoing inspection DB 14 and the market informationDB 16 has a product ID. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 7, the product IDincludes the model name. Hence quality information for all processesfrom parts incoming through production and outgoing inspection to marketcan be gathered together and displayed by model, by extracting the modelname from the product ID DB 7, the inspection DB 9, the repair database12, the outgoing inspection DB 14 and the market information DB 16, andperforming tabulation.

Next, a processing method for tabulating the quality information bymodel will be described with reference to the flowchart given in FIG.24.

In step S5, only information relating to inspections for which theresult is a fail is refered, by product ID or part ID, from the partsincoming DB 3, the inspection DB 9, the outgoing inspection DB 14 andthe market information DB 16.

In step S6, the product ID is refered from the product ID DB 7 using thepart ID from step S5 as a key.

In step S7, the model name is extracted from the product ID that wasrefered in step S5 and step S6.

In step S8, the number of defects is counted by using the model nameobtained in step S7 and the defective code obtained in step S5 as thetabulation keys. The result of this is shown in FIG. 25, whichindicates, by model, the status of defect occurrences in each process.

The quality control system described above is implemented by means of aprogram which performs the tabulation processing of the quality control.

The present invention encompasses both this program itself and acomputer-readable recording medium in which this program is stored.

In the present invention, this recording medium may be the memorynecessary for the processing to be carried out by a microcomputer (aPC). For example, something such as a ROM itself may be the programmedium. Alternatively, a program reading device may be provided in theform of an external storage device (not illustrated in the drawings), inwhich case the program medium can be read by inserting a recordingmedium in this external storage device. In either of these cases, thestored program may be accessed by the microcomputer and run.Alternatively, in either of these cases the program may be read, theread program loaded into a program storage area (not illustrated) of themicrocomputer, and the program run. It is assumed that a program forthis loading has been stored in advance in the main system.

In the present embodiment, the above-described program medium is arecording medium constituted so as to be separable from the main system,and may be a tape such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape; a magneticdisc such as a FD (flexible disk) or a HD (hard disk); an optical disksuch as a CD-ROM, MO, MD or DVD; or a card such as an IC card(encompassing a memory card) or an optical card. Alternatively, theabove-described program medium may be a medium which supports theprogram statically, encompassing a semiconductor memory such as maskROM, EPROM, EEPROM or flash ROM.

Moreover, if the present invention is configured so as to be connectableto a communications network, encompassing the Internet, the programmedium may be a medium which supports the program dynamically so as todownload the program from the communications network. It should be notedthat if the program is downloaded from a communications network in thismanner, a program for this downloading may be stored in advance in themain system, or alternatively may be installed from a separate recordingmedium. It should also be noted that the content stored in the recordingmedium is not restricted to a program and may also be data.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the program as such may be theactual processing itself that is executed by the PC, or it may be aprogram that is or has been imported by accessing the communicationsnetwork, encompassing the Internet. Alternatively, it may be a programthat is sent from there. It may also be the result of processing in theabove-described quality control system on the basis of the importedprogram. In other words, it may be a generated program. Alternatively,it may be the result of processing in the above-described qualitycontrol system when the program is sent from the communications network.In other words, it may be a generated program. It should also be notedthat these variations are not restricted to the program but may alsoapply to data.

The present invention can be embodied in various other forms withoutdeviating from the spirit or the main features of the invention. Hencethe above-described embodiment is in all points merely anexemplification and must not be interpreted restrictively. The scope ofthe present invention is shown by the claims and is in no way limited bythe detailed description given in the specification. Moreover,variations or modifications that fall within a scope equivalent to theclaims are all deemed to lie within the scope of the present invention.

It should further be noted that the present application is based onJapanese Patent Application No. 2002-034055 filed in Japan, the contentsof which are incorporated by reference in the present application.Furthermore, all the documents cited in the present specification arespecifically incorporated by reference.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The quality control system and the quality control method of the presentinvention achieve terminology standardization and systematization, andare therefore capable of integrated management and multidimensionalanalysis of quality data. In addition, quality information can betabulated and analyzed for each product and each model, and qualityhistory can be tracked throughout the processes of parts incoming,production, outgoing and market, and hence the true cause of a defectcan be ascertained and rapid countermeasures taken. Moreover, when aquality problem has occurred on the market, it is possible to trace theproblem back to the production steps or to the component parts, and toidentify and confirm the origin of the problem.

1. A quality control system which, throughout a life cycle of a productas it passes through processes of parts incoming, production, outgoingand market, carries out an inspection at each process, and collects andmanages quality information, using an information recording medium, thequality control system comprising: a first recording means for recordingthe product ID unique to a given product in an information recordingmedium; and a first affixing means for affixing to the product, in aninitial step of production, the information recording medium in whichthe product ID has been recorded; a second recording means for recordinga part ID unique to a given part in an information recording medium; anda second affixing means for affixing to the part, when shipping thepart, the information recording medium in which the part ID has beenrecorded; a first storage means for correlatively storing a product IDunique to a given product, this product ID being recorded in theinformation recording medium affixed to each product, and a part IDunique to a given part, this part ID being recorded in the informationrecording medium affixed to each part composing the product; a mastercode registering means in which are registered in advance, assystematized master codes, inspection items of inspection stepsperformed in the processes, and quality defect information itemsgenerated in connection with at least these inspections; a reading meansfor reading, during an inspection step in the processes, the product IDfrom the information recording medium affixed to a product beinginspected; an input means for inputting quality information includinginspection results and quality defect information, this qualityinformation being input correlatively with the product II) that has beenread by the reading means; a second storage means for storing theproduct ID and the quality information input from the input means; andwherein a quality history is managed for each product on the basis ofthe quality information stored in the second storage means.
 2. Thequality control system according to claim 1, wherein the product IDincludes at least a model name, a date of entry to production, or aserial number for each individual product.
 3. The quality control systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the quality defect information includes,classified by process and product, at least the product ID, a cause, aresponsible factor, a responsible step, a part information and acountermeasure.
 4. The quality control system according to claim 1,wherein the part ID includes at least a part code, a part productiondate, and a serial number of the individual product for which the partin question is used.
 5. A quality control method which throughout a lifecycle of a product as it passes through processes of parts incoming,production, outgoing and market, carries out an inspection at eachprocess, and collects and manages quality information, using a firstinformation recording medium and a second information recording medium,the quality control method comprising: a step of correlativelyrecording, in the first information recording medium, a product IDunique to a given product and in the second information recording mediuma part ID unique to each part composing that product; a step of affixingthe second information recording medium to each part and the firstinformation recording medium to each product; a step of correlativelystoring The product ID recorded in the information recording mediumaffixed to each product in a first storage means, and storing in asecond storage means the part ID recorded in the second informationrecording medium affixed to each part composing this product; a step ofregistering in advance, as systematized master codes, inspection itemsof inspection steps performed in the processes, and quality defectinformation items generated in connection with at least theseinspections; a step of reading, during an inspection step in eachprocess, the product ID from the first information recording mediumaffixed to a product being inspected; a step of inputting qualityInformation including inspection results and quality defect information,this quality Information being input correlatively with the product IDthat has been read; and a step of storing the input product ID andquality information.
 6. A computer-readable quality control programrecorded on a computer-readable medium having instructions forexecuting, throughout a life cycle of a product as it passes throughprocesses of parts incoming, production, outgoing and market, processingfor carrying out an inspection at each process, and collecting andmanaging quality information by causing performance of: a step ofrespectively recording, in a first information recording medium, aproduct ID unique to a given product, and in a second informationrecording medium, a part ID unique to each part composing that product,by correlatively inputting that product ID and part ID; a step ofcorrelatively storing, in a first storage means, the product ID recordedin the first information recording medium affixed to each product andthe part ID recorded in the second Information recording medium affixedto each part composing that product; a step of reading, during aninspection step in each process, the product ID from the firstinformation recording medium affixed to the product being inspected,this product ID being read by a reading means; and a step of usingsystematized master codes for inspection items of inspection stepsperformed in various processes and for quality defect information itemsgenerated in connection with these inspections, to input inspectionresults and quality defect information from an input means, therebystoring in a second storage means, correlatively with the read productID, quality information including the input inspection results andquality defect information.
 7. A computer-readable recording medium inwhich a quality control program has been recorded having instructionsfor executing, throughout a life cycle of a product as it passes throughProcesses of pads incoming, production, outgoing and market, processingfor carrying out an inspection at each process, and collecting andmanaging Quality information by causing performance of: a step ofrespectively recording, in a first information recording medium, aproduct ID unique to a given product and in a second informationrecording medium, a Dart ID unique to each Dart composing that productby correlatively inputting that product ID and part ID; a step ofcorrelatively storing, in a first storage means, the product ID recordedin the first information recording medium affixed to each product andthe part ID recorded in the second information recording medium affixedto each part composing that product; a step of reading, during aninspection step in each process, the product ID from the firstinformation recording medium affixed to the product being inspected,this product ID being read by a reading means; and a step of usingsystematized master codes for inspection items of inspection stepsperformed in the various Processes and for quality defect informationitems generated in connection with these inspections, to inputinspection results and quality defect information from an input means,thereby storing in a second storage means, correlatively with the readproduct ID, quality information including the input inspection resultsand quality defect information.